GM said on Tuesday that January sales rose 18 percent to 202,786 vehicles, while Ford said sales were up 15 percent to 178,351. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected 201,436 and 173,431, respectively.

Fiat Chrysler's U.S. arm said January sales rose 14 percent to 145,007 vehicles, against analysts' expectations of 144,476.

Toyota sales of 169,194 were up 16 percent, including record sales by its premium Lexus brand.

Sales at Nissan jumped 15 percent to 104,107. Nissan's performance was driven in part by strong results of its Rogue, Pathfinder and Murano utility vehicles, as well as its Versa, Sentra and Altima sedans.

Honda said record January sales of 102,184 were up 12 percent from a year ago, narrowly missing analysts' expectations. Sales of the Civic and Accord were down, but the best-selling CR-V crossover jumped 22 percent.

Chrysler's U.S. industry sales in January were projected at an annual rate of 17.0 million, including about 300,000 medium and heavy trucks.

A Reuters survey of 47 analysts estimated an annual rate of 16.6 million, which does not include the larger trucks.